West Bank Buzz: The Quiet Rise of a Palestinian Silicon Valley

Not quite the middle east depicted by the media:

At Asal, 120 software developers work in a large, air-conditioned open plan office fronted by a semi-circular glass wall. Twenty percent of them are women.

All hanging by a thread, since random buildings can be bombed or demolished as 'retaliation'.

Seems like Mediterranean climes are good for startups.

I used to work for an American company with a large Israeli workforce.

When I left the company they were actively trying to hire engineers from the West Bank. Apparently this used to be hard to do, but has gotten easier thanks to a government-sponsored (from both sides) program.

I believe it's a win-win -- Palestinians of the West Bank are cheaper than Israeli engineers and in need of better paying jobs. And hopefully working together will lead to more cross-cultural understanding.

I found myself quite depressed by the politics of the region and didn't like flying there -- but this provided a much needed glimmer of hope.

More info for the curious: http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israeli-high-tech-compa...

I had the privilege of being part of a delegation of American businessmen sent to the West Bank earlier this month. It was planned by the US State Department in conjunction with the Aspen Institute and we had the opportunity to visit with business leaders, politicians, and startup founders all over the West Bank and Israel.

Very eye-opening. A lot of great innovation in that region (on both sides). Met a team that's independently constructing wind mills in the West Bank to power up to 20% of their energy team. Another that is making custom furniture for small spaces in Gaza.

There were Israeli companies outsourcing to Ramallah instead of Bangalore, and ideas and ingenuity was very impressive. All in all, I was extremely impressed.

The path forward, I've always believed, was rooted in economic prosperity. Nothing creates chaos like poverty with no chances of escape.